Nite Songs

  We first encountered Berries in the Singles Bar a couple of months back with their recent Wall of Noise  release and enjoyed it so I was intrigued when this, their debut album, landed in the review pile. Signed to Xtra Mile, the band definitely have a very angular sound to them. There's elements of post-punk in there but kind of fed through a grunge filter. The band Berries most remind me of on here actually is the Throwing Muses (if they'd been devotees of Magazine and Wire) and that's a definite compliment. There's definitely a hint of Pauline Murray in the vocals as well which is never a bad thing. Songs like Spiral  and The Expert  have just the right mix of angst, tightness and melody to blend together into something pretty engaging. The overbearing theme here seems to be that of people being socially programmed to accept what society throws at them and there's certainly some good points raised here in the lyrics of We Are Machines , Copy  and Haze , the ...

  Yup, it's that time again. Similar to last month, a bit of a bumper crop this month with the Singles Bar meaning we've officially got our first multi-parter of the year with no less than three instalments coming at ya this morning. First bit here and the second bit'll be up in an hour or so. Enjoy... *** Well the obvious big news this month is a new Michael Monroe  single and Can't Stop Falling Apart  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗) is a confident comeback from the guy - a mid-paced ode to sticking to your guns and not giving up which builds up to a trademark big Monroe singalong chorus which has a definite hint of the early '70s Stones in there. The frenetic B-side Murder The Summer Of Love  is even better with its panic attack vibes and angry message showing a definite nod to Mike's old mucker Stiv Bators. Good stuff - roll on the album! *** Those of you with long memories may recall that the Sweet Things ' In Borrowed Shoes On Borrowed Time  was the first album we ever re...